A Giant Data Center Plan And The Fight Over The Great Salt Lake

A single vote in Box Elder County just set off one of the biggest Utah fights in years: a proposed mega data center campus on the northern edge of the Great Salt Lake, backed by O’Leary Digital and shepherded by MIDA. The numbers are staggering, from the sheer land footprint to an on-site natural gas plant proposed at up to 9 gigawatts, more than double Utah’s current electricity use. That’s why scientists and environmental advocates are raising the alarm about carbon emissions, water draw, and the lack of independent environmental review at a moment when the Great Salt Lake is already in crisis. 

We walk through what happened at the commission meeting, why residents feel blindsided, and why the speed of the process has become its own controversy. Then we take the argument seriously from the other side: the jobs and long-term tax revenue being promised, plus the framing from state leaders that AI infrastructure is now part of national security and global competition. If you’ve been wondering how data centers, energy policy, water rights, and local democracy collide, this is the clearest real-time case study Utah has seen in a long time. 

From there, we shift to Salt Lake City’s fiscal year 2027 budget proposal, including a 12.5% increase in the city property tax rate and what that does and does not mean for your total bill. We also break down where the money would go, why inflation is squeezing basics like firefighter gear and street materials, and how residents can weigh in before the council votes. We close with major City Hall news on the temporary suspension of a councilmember pending an independent investigation, plus quick hits on the Utah Mammoth, a local brewery’s Chapter 11 filing, a new Japantown mural, and Love Your Block mini grants. Subscribe, share the show with a Salt Lake friend, and leave a review.

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Transcript

Stratus Data Center Plan Explained

Emissions And Water Alarm Bells

Public Backlash And Fast-Track Vote

Security And Jobs Case For It

Salt Lake City Property Tax Proposal

Council Suspension And Investigation

SPEAKER_00 1:30

What is up, everybody, and welcome back to another Tuesday update. I am Eric Nilsen, the host of the Small Lake City podcast, and it is a beautiful early May here in Salt Lake. The mountains still have some snow on them, the valley's finally warming up, the sun is coming up earlier, and even though we had a gnarly storm last night with thunder, lightning, rain, wind, I thought I was gonna find myself in Oz and pull a Dorothy and get sucked up by a tornado, but thankfully it's still here in Salt Lake. But before we dive in, uh, if you missed last week's episode, make sure to go back and listen. I sat down with Tyler Glenn, best known as the lead singer of the Neon Trees. And I knew this was gonna be a conversation, but Tyler was so open and it was such a great chat with him about creativity, finding himself in Salt Lake and still wanting to be in Salt Lake, especially about the band Neon Trees blowing up, him very publicly coming out as gay and also leaving the church. So great conversation there. If you need something to listen to at work on your run while you clean, while you drive, go check it out. Okay, so the biggest story in Utah going on this week, and honestly, one of the biggest stories I've seen in this state in a long time. On Monday night, the Box Elder County Commission voted unanimously to approve a massive, and I mean massive, proposed data center campus called the Stratus Project, located in Hansel Valley on the northern shore of the Great Salt Lake. The developer behind it is O'Leary Digital, owned by Kevin O'Leary, yes, that Kevin O'Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful from Shark Tank. And the state agency shepherding it through is MIDA, the Military Installation Development Authority. Here's the scale of this thing, because the numbers are genuinely staggering. We're talking about 40,000 acres, more than two and a half times the size of Manhattan, of undeveloped land in northwestern Utah. The data center would be powered by an on-site natural gas plant generating up to 9 gigawatts of electricity. For context, the entire state of Utah currently uses about 4 gigawatts. This one project, at full build out, would require more than twice of what we use statewide right now. And it's sitting right next to the Great Salt Lake. Scientists and environmentalists have been sounding the alarm hard. A University of Utah Atmospheric Sciences professor said flat out that 9 gigawatts of natural gas power would increase Utah's total carbon emissions by more than 50%. 5-0 from one project. The water questions are just as serious. The Great Salt Lake is already in crisis, and critics say that there's been zero independent environmental review of what pulling water from that basin means for the lake. Developers claim they'll use a closed loop system with minimal water use. But multiple scientists said that those claims make no physical sense at the scale they're talking about, and there are zero published studies or independent audits to back them up. Here's what makes the story even more infuriating for a lot of people: the speed. Box Elder County residents say they found out about this just weeks ago. A 30-year agreement with no exit clause on the largest energy development in state history, and the public had a matter of weeks to respond before a vote. Over 2,500 public comments poured in, more than 1,800 protests were filed against the water rights application alone. Hundreds of people showed up to the county fairgrounds in Tremonton to speak out Monday night. The crowd was so loud that the three commissioners, and I'm not making this up, left the room, moved to a separate space, and voted via projector screen while protesters shouted, cowards. Now, supporters aren't wrong that there's a real argument here. Governor Spencer Cox backs the project and has framed it as an AI arms race against China. The project promises 2,000 permanent jobs and potentially$100 million a year in county tax revenue at full build. That's a genuine national security angle with the military connection. Those aren't nothing. But here's the thing that sticks with me the most. Utah has spent years and over a billion dollars trying to save the Great Salt Lake. Advocates have ripped out grass, cut agricultural water use, fought for every acre foot. And now we're being told to just trust that a project of this scale, with no environmental review, no real public process, barely any transparency about who these developers even are, is going to be fine. One geoscience professor put it well. This is a private enterprise coming in to extract from Utah's natural wealth and leave us with a few crumbs. This isn't over, the water rights application is still being challenged, legal fights are likely coming, and the capital raising process is just getting started. I'll be following this one closely. Alright, let's come closer to home because this next one is going to affect your wallet. Mayor Aaron Mendenhall presented her proposal for fiscal year 2027 budget to the Salt Lake City Council last night. And the headline is a proposed 12.5% increase in the city's property tax rate. The total budget she put forward is just under$499 million, about a 1.6% increase from last year. Now, this part is important. The mayor was clear that this does not mean your overall property tax goes up by 12%. It only applies to the city's portion of your total property taxes. Still, it's real money. The increase is projected to raise about$13.5 million in additional revenue. If you're asking why, she pointed to the same thing you've probably been feeling in your own life: inflation and rising costs across the board. A full set of firefighter gear that cost around$3,700 in 2020 now runs nearly$4,700. Asphalt has gone from$44 to$64 a ton, traffic signal replacements have basically doubled in cost, and shrinking federal support is putting more pressure on local budgets. The proposal includes nearly$10 million for affordable housing,$11 million for street maintenance, and$11 million for parks, including projects at Glendale, Washington, and Sugarhouse Parks. And she highlighted a milestone worth noting. As of last week, the city has helped fund more than 1,000 family-sized affordable apartments. And that's genuinely significant. The budget still has to go through the city council, which has to pass it before the end of June. Not a done deal yet, and the public comment period is where residents can actually weigh in if you want to be heard. The third big story this week is also out of City Hall, and it came to a head last night. The Salt Lake City Council voted 5-0 with zero abstentions to temporarily suspend Councilwoman Ava Lopez Chavez from several of her duties, including conducting formal council meetings and her leadership role at the Community Reinvestment Agency. An independent investigator is being brought in. So here's the background. Over the past few weeks, multiple people came forward with allegations that Lopez Chavez engaged in behavior constituting sexual harassment. The accusers include fellow City Councilwoman Victoria Petro, State Senator Jen Plum, and State Representative Huang Yuan. Elected officials going on the record. The alleged incidents reportedly happened in social settings between 2019 and 2022 before Lopez Chavez held public office. Lopez Chavez has denied everything. She says she welcomes a fair and independent process and will fully participate, while making clear she intends to defend herself. She abstained from the vote on her own suspension. Petro also abstained. The investigation is expected to wrap up by the end of July. There's also a separate question about whether Lopez Chavez actually lives in the district she represents, after apparently purchasing a home in a different district last year. A lot of moving pieces, but definitely going to keep tracking this one. Now let's jump into a few other stories that have been going on in the past week. Starting with the Utah Mammoth. The Utah Mammoth season is officially over after falling to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. But let's take a second. This team, in just their second year of existence, made the playoffs and pushed a tough Vegas squad all the way to six games. The energy around the city during the run was real. Captain Clayton Keller said it best at exit interviews, making the playoffs was the goal, and they did it. The future looks bright, and we'll be back. Also, bad news for Kraft Beer fans. Keto's Brewing, the eco-friendly brewery on 700 South with their newer sugarhouse location, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They opened Sugarhouse just last December and are now carrying up to$10 million in liabilities. Keyword reorganization. They're trying to restructure and stay open, not close. Fingers crossed, and maybe go grab a pint this week. And a beautiful culture story. The city announced that muralist Cole Eisenhower has been selected to paint a new mural on the multi-ethnic senior high rise on 100 South in Japantown, honoring the history of a neighborhood that was nearly completely demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Salt Palace. The design is inspired by Kinsugi, the Japanese art of repairing pottery with gold. Leaning into the cracks. Look for it this summer. The city's Love Your Block program is back open for applications, specifically for west side neighborhoods, including Glendale, Poplar Grove, Fair Park, Rose Park, and Ballpark. Mini grants for community-driven volunteer-led projects. Now let's talk about next week's guest. Next week on the show, we're sitting down with AJ Nielsen and Dan Benschoff from Volunteers of America, Utah. AJ is their director of communications and Dan is their chief development officer. And together they're going to walk us through the work VOA does right here in this state: housing, recovery, veteran services, you name it. It's one of those organizations quietly doing enormous things for our community, and I can't wait to put a real spotlight on it. So that's it for this week's Tuesday update. As always, if you're enjoying the show, share it with someone who loves this city as much as you do. Leave me a review. It generally helps people find me and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and wherever else you can find Small Lake Pod. Have a great week, and I will see you this weekend with a VOA episode. See ya.